A Word About the Mic

A few of you have written in wondering why the audio on the LoonCam has been so quiet lately. Fair question. Here’s the honest answer.

The camera and all its gear live on a private island, and the folks who let us put it there are on the island right now, enjoying their vacation, for the next couple of weeks. At normal mic levels, the LoonCam picks up more than loon chatter. It picks up people talking on their own porch. Clearly enough to make out what they’re saying.

That’s not a trade we’re willing to make. They’ve been generous enough to host our equipment. The least we can do is keep the volume down while they’re around.

So for now, the mic is set low. You can still hear the nest at night, and you’ll still catch the occasional eagle screech, loon call, or beaver tail slap. It’s just softer than usual, and voices blur into background noise instead of coming through clearly. We know the sound is half the experience of watching this cam, so we don’t love it either.

Here’s the good news: once we get close to hatch, from pip through hatching and while the chicks are visible, we’re turning the volume back up. That’s the window everyone really tunes in for anyway. We’ve already let our hosts know that’s the plan, and they’re on board.

In the meantime, thanks for bearing with the quiet. It’s a small ask in exchange for the people who make this whole thing possible.